(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a food and beverage storage and serving vessel that is comprised of an inner container and an outer container that are removably attached to each other, and a removable lid that closes over a top opening of the vessel. More specifically, the vessel comprises an inner container, an outer container, and a removable lid, where the outer container has a hollow interior chamber that extends through a bottom wall and a side wall of the outer container. The chamber is filled with a phase change material that stays cold for an extended period of time when chilled, or stays hot for an extended period of time when heated. The inner container is removably assembled into the outer container, where surface contact between the inner container and outer container transfers the cold/heat of the phase change material to a food or beverage contained in the inner container.
(2) Description of the Related Art
There are a variety of different types of food and beverage storage and serving containers that are designed to maintain a food or beverage contained in the containers at or near their initially chilled or heated temperatures. A basic vessel of this type is a thick-walled bowl or a pot, where the wall thickness functions as an insulator for the food or beverage contained in the bowl or pot. Providing a lid to cover over the top opening of the bowl or pot further serves to maintain the food or beverage put into the bowl or pot at its desired temperature.
Food and beverage storage and serving vessels have been designed that include a source of cooling or heating for the food or beverage contained in the vessel. Vessels of this type typically include a source of cooling or heating at the bottom of the vessel. A common example of this type of vessel is a serving dish or pan that rests on a hot plate. This type of vessel is disclosed in the Torino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,395, and the Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,370. However, these vessels are disadvantaged in that the source of cooling or heating only directly affects the food or beverage at the bottom of the vessel that is adjacent the source of cooling or heating.
Prior art food and beverage storage and serving vessels that included their own source of cooling or heating are frequently employed by the food service industry. These vessels are often found at a salad bar or a buffet line where they maintain the cool temperature or hot temperature of the food or beverage contained in the vessel. In these illustrative environments, it is often necessary to remove the vessel from the salad bar or buffet line when it is emptied, replacing the emptied vessel with a second vessel containing the food or beverage being served. Often removing a serving vessel that has a source of cooling or heating attached is awkward and difficult. Replacing the emptied vessel also requires that the food service have a number of the vessels having an attached cooling or heating source in order to keep the salad bar or buffet stocked with the food or beverage. The need to inventory the additional number of these specialized vessels increases the cost of doing business for the food service.